Trying to create "solid" instead of "Create solid and camera" in AE

Hello, I had this same issue and I sorted it out by fiddling with the "Quality and Sampling" options directly in the layers. Have no idea why this works. But for me it does. Where do you see those "/" symbols, once I had both the video and the camera tracking layer with the same symbol. I stopped having the option "Create Solid and Camera" and had the option "Create Solid". Again, no idea why this is the case but hope it helps. I am using the latest version of AE as of the date of this post. 

I know EXACTLY what you're talking about David and have been trying to resolve that problem for YEARS!  Just as can be seen in all the others who have responded to your question, no one knows what you're talking about.  While I haven't been able to get help from anyone who actually understands what the problem is, I have found a kind of work-around solution.  As long as your current project doesn't include layers using Blending Modes, you can select all of the layers already created AND the 3D Tracker Camera and precomp them. Then, back in the original composition, you can create a new solid AND camera.  The new solid will track with the new camera and you can start creating more solid or nulls, etc. without having to create another camera again.  The new camera is now the active camera with its own 3D solids and the "old" composition is now a precomp using the original camera.

The only problem I've had with this work-around is when I've had to use blending modes on footage with a black backgound, like "screen".  The layer's blending modes don't work in a multi-layer precomp and backgrounds are black again and back in the original comp they are black again.  To return the Blending Mode you have to turn on the Collapse Transformation switch but when you do that, the precomped layer in the original layer is no longer in the correct position.  I could use some help with that.

Camera tracking involves at least 3 steps and it should involve 4 for every shot you track that isn't a camera pan. Shots that solve as a camera pan have no depth information so the usefulness of a Camera Track as opposed to a Corner Pin track or track in Mocha AE. Here is the minimum workflow:

• Shot Prep:
  1. Trim the shot to make sure you are not wasting time tracking frames that don't need tracking
  2. If there are things moving in the shot like people walking or cars moving, they will foul up the tracking so mask or rotoscope those elements so they cannot be seen
  3. If there is little detail in the shot add sharpness, curves, or other effects to the shot to increase the edge detail in the shot.
  4. If you need masking or color correction to improve the shot before tracking you need a duplicate of the footage with no effects and you need to pre-compose the copy with effects and masks to use that as the source for tracking. If I pre-compose I always set the layer to a guide layer after it is pre-composed.
• Tracking:
  1. After Camera Tracker runs the first time check the average error. If it is higher than 1 pixel try running tracker again with detailed analysis
  2. After Camera Tracker is complete and the average error is acceptable scroll through the shot and look for a place where you can establish an Origin and Ground Plane for the shot. The origin and Ground plane should match a surface that you want to use as the starting point for building your 3D scene in the shot. When the frame has been established that you want to use for the starting point set a layer marker
• Set the Origin and Ground Plane by picking as many points as you can that are all on the same surface, set the Origin and Ground Plane, then add a camera and a solid
  1. It is very important that you use the same points for the origin and ground plane, and it is important that you use a solid because you need to be able to verify the track
  2. I usually add a Grid to the solid and rotate the grid so that I can verify the grid lines up with the surface. I name the solid Origin, set it as a guide layer, and then verify that the track is good
• Add as many additional Solids (better than nulls because you can easily see if they stick to the surface they are supposed to, set them as guide layers and verify your track

Follow those steps and you have a schene set up that you can use to add the other elements to the scene. Because you established an origin and ground plane and marked the start frame you can add any new 3D layer to the scene and it will be at 0, 0, 0, and lined up with the camera if you go to the marker. You can either Shift + Parent new 3D objects to the other reference tracker solids you added to the scene to move them into place, or you can use the position controls and the X, Y, and Z rotation properties to line up any new elements with surfaces in the scene. 

If you need to add additional reference solids (remember I don't like nulls because it's difficult to see how well they stick to the surfaces) all you have to do is select the Camera Tracker in the Control Panel, pick some new points and add the appropriate surface to the scene.

Failing to set an origin and ground plane and verify the track guarantees that it is going to be much more difficult to arrange the 3D layers in the scene correctly. If the scene is complicated I always keep my Track Solids set to guide layers and leave them in the comp just in case I need to return to the project and make changes later.

If you go back to Camera Tracker, select the new points on a surface, and do not have the opportunity to add just a solid or a text layer, the link between AE's Camera Tracker has been broken and you'll need to start all over. I have only had this happen once and I don't know what caused it. If it is happening to you every time then verify that AE is up to date and make sure that you have enough RAM assigned to other applications. AE likes RAM in multiples of 4 GB and so do other apps, so if you only have 8 GB or ram assign 4 to AE and 4 to other apps while you are tracking, and never assign less than 2 GB to other apps. 

I hope this helps. 

I'm having the same problem. Did you have any luck fixing this?

I can't figure out how to create Nulls or Solids that are automatically in the scene without having the 3d camera tracker effect selected.

Well, you already have a 3D camera fro ma previous solve, so I'm not sure why you would even need the internal options. You can just create any 3D layer in the comp and it should align just like thjat, give or take soem scale issues. It seems you are not understanding that once the camera has been converted to keyframes that's how it works. No reason to re-solve the camera unless you really need to.

Mylenium